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Accident
Definition - An unexpected and undesirable
event, especially one resulting in damage or harm: car accidents on icy
roads.
- An unforeseen incident: A
series of happy accidents led to his promotion.
- An instance of involuntary urination or defecation in one's clothing.
- Lack of intention; chance: ran into
an old friend by accident.
- Logic A circumstance or attribute that is not essential to the nature of something.
Accidents
are the third leading cause of death for males in the United States, but only the seventh leading cause
of death for women. The following tables summarize statistics Concerning
types of accidental death. Of death for all its
member states. Because data-gathering is poor in many countries of the world the precision implied by the decimal places is
misleading. It should also be noted that the total deaths due to the top conditions mentioned only amount to 54%. This can
be contrasted to the top ten causes listed for the United States, which constitute well over 90% of all
causes. The most common conventional causes of death in industrialized
countries arecardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer's Disease and accident (in that order).
Alzheimer's victims usually die of pneumonia, a lung condition or a cerebrovascular condition -- so Alzheimer's victims
are often declared to die of other causes. CAUSES OF DEATH, USA, 2002 FORMAL NAME | INFORMAL NAME | %
ALL DEATHS | (1) Diseases of the heart | heart
attack (mainly) | 28.5% | (2)
Malignant neoplasm | cancer | 22.8% | (3)
Cerebrovascular disease | stroke | 6.7% | (4)
Chronic lower respiratory disease | emphysema, chronic bronchitis | 5.1% | (5)
Unintentional injuries | accidents | 4.4% | (6)
Diabetes mellitus | diabetes | 3.0% | (7)
Influenza and pneumonia | flu & pneumonia | 2.7% | (8)
Alzheimer's Disease | Alzheimer's senility | 2.4% | (9)
Nephritis and Nephrosis | kidney disease | 1.7% | (10)
Septicemia | systemic infection | 1.4% | (11)
Intentional self-harm | suicide | 1.3% | (12)
Chronic Liver/Cirrhosis | liver disease | 1.1% | (13)
Essential Hypertension | high blood pressure | 0.8% | (14)
Assault | homicide | 0.7% | (15) All other causes | other | 17.4% | | | | | |
TEN
LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH, ALL WHO MEMBER STATES, 2000 CAUSE | PERCENT OF TOTAL | (1)
Ischemic Heart Disease | 12.4% | (2)
Cerebrovascular Disease | 9.2% | (3)
Lower Respiratory Infections | 6.9% | (4)
HIV/AIDS | 5.3% | (5)
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease | 4.5% | (6)
Perinatal conditions | 4.4% | (7)
Diarrhoeal Diseases | 3.8% | (8)
Tuberculosis | 3.0% | (9)
Road Traffic Injuries | 2.3% | (10) Trachea, Bronchus, Lung Cancers | 2.2 | | | |
(return to contents) TYPES OF ACCIDENTAL DEATHS,
USA 2002
(MVA = Motor Vehicle Accident) ACCIDENT | PERCENT | (1) Motor vehicle (MVA) | 44.3% | (2) Falls | 17.8% | (3) Poison,liq/solid | 13.0% | (4) Drowning | 3.9% | (5) Fires, Burns,Smoke | 3.4% | (6) Medical/Surgical Complication | 3.1% | (7) Other land transport | 1.5% | (8) Firearms | 0.8% | (9)
Other (nontransport) | 17.8 | | | |
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